Last-Minute Missiles

The Bush administration rushes to complete premature and costly deals with the Czech Republic and Poland.

THE BUSH administration may have radically shifted its foreign policy more than once in the past seven years, but it has been foolishly consistent in one endeavor: the overzealous pursuit of missile defense. Before and after Sept. 11, 2001, without regard for technological failures or the mixed results of testing, the administration has relentlessly and recklessly sought to build and deploy interceptors in Alaska and Europe and on ships. Before the 2004 election, the Pentagon rushed to pour concrete for silos in Alaska, though the ground-based system had not passed the most rudimentary tests or even been equipped with all of its components. Now the State Department is trying to seal agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic for a second interceptor base and a large radar station before President Bush leaves office. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to travel to Prague and maybe to Warsaw early this month.

The rush to lay the groundwork for a European missile defense has notoriously roiled U.S. relations with Russia, which has falsely portrayed the 10 interceptors planned for Poland as a threat to Russian security. The real problems with the administration's approach lie elsewhere. Mr. Bush is trying to lock Poland and the Czech Republic into deals before the Pentagon has demonstrated that the missile system can accomplish the mission of defending both northern Europe and the United States from a missile attack from Iran. The deals are controversial in both countries and have strained U.S. relations with both governments.

Negotiations with Poland are particularly problematic. Polish officials view the world through a parochial lens: They say bluntly that they perceive no threat to their country from Iran; nor do they feel obliged to host the missile base simply because Poland is a NATO ally of the United States. Instead, the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which ordered a withdrawal of Polish troops from Iraq shortly after taking office last year, is seeking to extract the maximum benefit from the Bush administration's lame-duck lust for a deal. Poland has asked for U.S. military aid and air defense equipment, including Patriot missile batteries, that could add billions of dollars to an already strained U.S. defense budget. The Polish defense minister has said the United States must place Poland in the same category as Egypt and Pakistan, which are among the largest recipients of American aid.

Frustrated by such demands, the Bush administration recently held talks with Poland's neighbor Lithuania about the missile base. In talks with the Poles this week in Washington, the administration is also making compromise offers that would not involve large amounts of aid. But it would be better off leaving the matter for the next administration. The House and the Senate have passed legislation that rightly links funding to a certification by the secretary of defense that the missile interceptors have passed rigorous testing. That testing will not be completed until at least 2010. Provided its effectiveness is proven, a European missile defense system may be worth building. But it is time for the Bush administration to stop its deploy-at-all costs crusade.